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“He may be just a tramp, a guy that likes to roam about this great country without any special aim, just to thank the Lord for these beautiful mountains.”
-B. Traven, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
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“. . .here, where there are still the silences and the loneliness of the earth before man, . . .”
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Recently Read
- Dick Smith on Forest Access
- Smith's Pool
- When Rains Fall, Will USFS Close Our Forest? The Coming El Niño
- Mountain Lion Standoff, Santa Ynez Mountains
- Dick Smith Calling a Condor, Piru 1970
- Hiking Is Not A Crime
- Hiking Is Not A Crime; Hiker's PreCheck Forest Entry Pass
- The Pine Mountain Punisher: 22 Mile Day Hike
- Language of Forest Closure; Assault on an Ancient Right
- Tarantula Mating Season, Santa Barbara County
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Latest Dispatches
- Dick Smith on Forest Access
- Old Mission Sycamore Whacked Again
- Bald Eagle, Manzana Creek, San Rafael Wilderness
- When Rains Fall, Will USFS Close Our Forest? The Coming El Niño
- Language of Forest Closure; Assault on an Ancient Right
- March of the Mustard; The Spread of Noxious Weeds
- Mark of Conquest II: Benchmark and Mortar
- Save Old Mission Sycamore … __ __ __ …
- Raking the Forest: Anderson, Trump, Kuyper
- Initials of J.D. Reyes (1907)
- Last California Grizzlies Seen In Santa Barbara National Forest? (1926)
- Eccentric Artifact, San Marcos Foothills Preserve
- Fog Drip Morels
- Naming Santa Barbara’s Modoc Road
- Mark of Conquest: Benchmark and Mortar
Lunar Phase
Tag Archives: Backpacking
Mark of Conquest: Benchmark and Mortar
United States Coast & Geodetic Survey benchmark (1872) on a Chumash mortar stone, Santa Barbara County. “The reverence attached to the artifacts of history is a thing men feel. One could even say that what endows any thing with significance … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Artifacts, Backpacking, Chumash, History, Indian Wars, Indians, Legacy of Conquest, Los Padres National Forest, Native Americans, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains
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1 Comment
Hat Tip to the Selfless Samaritans In Service to Others
Pope Francis died this morning, Easter Monday. An incredible date for such a man to pass on. The extraordinary event called to mind the deaths of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, the second and third presidents of the United States, … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Adventure, backcountry, Backpacking, Hiking, Hiking (2), Landscapes, Los Padres National Forest, Outdoors, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains, Wilderness
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The Intelligence of Coyote Tobacco (Nicotiana attenuata)
Wild tobacco growing in the Sierra Madre Mountains of Santa Barbara County. (Fall 2024) If we define intelligence as an ability to perceive, understand and respond effectively to environmental stimuli, then we might attribute to plants what is normally considered … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Backpacking, Camping, Hiking, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains, Science, Wilderness, wildflowers, Wildlife
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The Extraordinary Rains of August 2023
The organic curves of chaparral-cloaked Condor National Forest. I’m growing like a seedRain’s been falling on me — KT Tunstall, Feel It All “I’m wondering if we won’t see August thunderstorms.” I wrote that in June, a freak premonition. The … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Backpacking, Camping, Hiking, Landscapes, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Santa Barbara, Sespe Wilderness, Wilderness, wildflowers, Wildlife
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3 Comments
Renaming Los Padres: Names Of the 1930s
Detail showing Abel Mtn. on a 1938 map of Los Padres National Forest. Backstory I’ve long had an interest in place, in the particularity of natural settings and the composition of undeveloped scenes, and in the forest placenames chosen by … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged backcountry, Backpacking, Camping, Chumash, Hiking, Hiking (2), History, Los Padres National Forest, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains, Wilderness
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7 Comments
